One of the best and worst things about living in 2026 is social media. In the firearms and tactics world, it offers quick access to information, but it also fuels a culture of narcissism. We have reached a point where people are chasing meaningless goals just to “out-post” one another or feel relevant.
The Problem with Performance Standards
Consider the Bill Drill. For decades, the standard was sub-three seconds; now, anything over two seconds is mocked. Similarly, the obsession with sub-second draws has led many officers—including SWAT—to ditch triple-retention Safariland holsters (SLS/ALS) for single-retention ALS units. As someone who has fought for my duty gun, I see this as an unnecessary and dangerous trade-off of safety for speed.
There is also the risk of “outrunning your headlights.” In the video below, retired police officer Jared Reston of Reston Group Critical Solutions recalls a line-of-duty shooting that he was involved in, where his speed exceeded his processing power. Jared had engaged a suspect, and he continued firing, putting rounds through a windshield behind the suspect because his brain hadn’t registered that the suspect had already dropped.
Reality vs. The Timer
One civilian YouTuber claims to have analyzed thousands of hours of surveillance and body cam footage and concluded that a 1.5-second draw is the “universal standard” needed for civilians and law enforcement. But they ignore the nuances of the real world.
Anyone in law enforcement who has been around investigations involving analyzing video can tell you there are glitches in video timelines. Videos of use-of-force cases also don’t take into account everything the person in the video saw, heard, or experienced. Shooters of different skill levels will also react differently.
In states like New York, where every draw-down on a suspect by law enforcement is now reported and scrutinized, we are seeing more law enforcement officers hesitate to even draw their firearms, let alone use deadly physical force, for fear of being prosecuted. “De-escalating” to the point of endangering law enforcement and the community is becoming the standard. Drawing sooner would not require as fast a draw time compared to drawing at the last possible moment.
That said, even if the 1.5-second draw time deduction is off by a quarter of a second, we are talking about a 1.25-second draw. That is easily obtainable with Level 3 duty holsters and concealment rigs, both. That is .26 slower than what is needed to be relevant on “The ‘Gram.” Cue up the tactical pearl clutching.
Bob Keller of Gamut Resolutions, a Delta Force veteran of countless gunfights, eventually stopped training the “sexy stuff” to focus on simple “up drills” on small circles.
Gun trends
Every “celebrity” trainer and social media gun influencer seems to be promoting a particular $2,700 rifle because a particular military unit is using it. Now, law enforcement agencies are adopting it.
I purchased 10 Colt Commandos EPRs for my agency at around $1,200 each. Only one gun ever had an issue; at just over 27,000 rounds through it, it had a bolt lug shear off during training, and it kept running. I only discovered the issue upon cleaning it after training.
I recently hit the range twice with my buddy Jimmy. He raved about his modified pistol one trip and his modified carbine the next. I dispelled his theories on the performance of both of his guns by making him shoot my stock versions of both of his guns. He was so disappointed because he wanted to believe his modifications made a difference. They didn’t.
Gear and Tactical Trends
Off-Body Carry
While popular in recent years and pushed by “influencers,” EDC bags often scream “gun” to criminals and are easily snatched during a mugging.
A while back, I observed a guy in a store wearing a fanny pack. He had a wallet in one back pocket, a phone in the other, and his keys in his hand. I thought for sure he had a gun in the fanny pack. As he left, the young cashiers commented that they observed the same thing, and it seemed weird to them. While they probably weren’t considering that he might be armed, something about him seemed out of place to them.
Canting Carbines
Many instructors now teach an inboard cant. However, guns live in a vertical world. Canting your rifle near cover leads to height-over-bore accidents, and it throws off your holds at distance—especially when using IR lasers under NVGs.
Competition vs. Duty
The shift toward “Hit Factor” and “performance shooting” in law enforcement training and qualifications often prioritizes raw speed and grip tension over the surgical accuracy required in a lethal encounter.
How did competent gunfighters like Jim Cirillo of NYPD Stake Out Squad fame ever survive his 17 gunfights without training using “hit factor” or taking a class called “performance pistol”?
Insert your visions of me rolling my eyes here.
The Takeaway
Ignore the fads. Whether it’s holding a pistol next to your temple for “safety” or taping a tennis ball to your hand to simulate injured shooter drills, many social media “innovations” are nothing more than distractions.
It seems to be trendy that now every pistol and carbine course is called “Performance Pistol/Carbine.” Can we also stop chasing patches, coins, and sub-second metrics that sacrifice retention and reality? Instead, let us focus on the fundamentals that will actually keep you alive.
